Breakfast at Tiffany's recap

An unnamed writer remembers Holly Golightly, his young neighbor in wartime Manhattan. Holly lives on gifts from wealthy men, visits jailed racketeer Sally Tomato for money, and dreams of the calm she associates with Tiffany's. Her confident identity conceals a childhood as Lulamae Barnes and a marriage to Texas veterinarian Doc Golightly, whom she refuses to rejoin. She plans a new life with Brazilian diplomat José Ybarra-Jaegar, but police arrest her after discovering that Sally's messages were criminal codes. José abandons her, and Holly, already grieving her brother's wartime death, jumps bail and leaves for South America. On the way she deserts her nameless cat, regrets it, and cannot find him. The narrator later discovers the cat living safely with a family, but Holly's fate remains uncertain. A photograph from Africa offers a possible trace and leaves her friends hoping she finally found a home without surrendering her freedom.

Years after the Second World War, bartender Joe Bell summons an unnamed writer when a photograph from Africa appears to offer a trace of their vanished friend Holly Golightly. The narrator recalls meeting Holly when they lived in the same Manhattan brownstone. She survived through the attention and gifts of prosperous men, visited imprisoned racketeer Sally Tomato for a weekly fee, and sought refuge from anxiety at Tiffany's jewelry store. She called the narrator Fred after her absent brother and gradually trusted him. Holly's polished identity proves partly invented: Doc Golightly arrives from Texas and reveals that she was Lulamae Barnes, a runaway who had married him as a young teenager. She refuses to return. After abandoning the dependent Rusty Trawler, Holly pursues a future with Brazilian diplomat José Ybarra-Jaegar. Her plans collapse when authorities identify the messages she carries from Sally as criminal codes and arrest her. José leaves to protect his career, while Holly is devastated by news that her brother has died in the war. Released on bail, she chooses flight over trial and departs for Brazil even without José. En route to the airport she abandons her cat, regrets it, and searches in vain. The narrator later finds the animal safely adopted, but Holly never returns. A report that someone resembling her was seen in Africa remains unverified, leaving her fate open.

Police arrest Holly because her paid visits to Sally Tomato have carried coded messages for his criminal organization, though she says she never understood them. Her arrest becomes news, José ends their relationship to protect his diplomatic career, and Holly learns that her beloved brother Fred has died in the war. After her release on bail, she refuses to remain for trial and plans to fly to Brazil despite no longer having José waiting there. During the drive to the airport she abandons her cat, then breaks down and searches unsuccessfully for him, recognizing too late that attachment carries responsibilities she has resisted. Holly leaves the country and sends only a brief message; her final whereabouts remain unknown. Months later the narrator finds the cat safe in a family's window. Years afterward, a photograph of an African carving resembling Holly suggests she may have reached that continent, but no proof follows. The narrator hopes she too eventually found a place where she could belong.